Kevin Clark warns 24-team College Football Playoff ‘would be a disgrace’
Credit: The Paul Finebaum Show on SEC Network ESPN football commentator Kevin Clark is directly calling out college football leadership as the sport moves toward yet another expansion of the College Football Playoff. During an appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show on Monday, Clark made an impassioned plea against the 24-team Playoff, arguing that such a move would “ruin” the regular season and put the sport on a path toward disaster. “I think that college football should be run by people who like college football,” Clark said.
“And every decision, every idea I’ve seen about playoff expansion seems like it’s come from people who don’t like college football, don’t know why we like it, and it’s really starting to tick me off. A 24-team playoff would be a disgrace. ” “I think that college football should be run by people who like college football.
And every decision, every idea I’ve seen about playoff expansion seems like it’s come from people who don’t like college football, don’t know why we like it… A 24-team playoff would be a… pic. twitter. com/maMkRmFl6I — Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 4, 2026 The Big Ten appears to be pushing for a 24-team bracket, while the SEC seems to prefer a 16-team bracket .
Clark believes anything that devalues regular-season games is a bad idea, and one that is only gaining momentum because athletic directors are trying to “bail themselves out” from their own mistakes by sucking up more television money. “Frankly, I think 12 is too big. I thought six was the perfect playoff size if you wanted to stop there, but we know that they can’t help themselves,” he said.
“I get that. So 12, and if you have to, in a decade, go to 16. Fine.